The embodiments herein relate to silane compositions for use in subterranean formation operations and, in particular, to silane compositions comprising one or two silicon atoms having carbon chain lengths of between 2 and 36 carbon atoms. The silane compositions are capable of stabilizing loose particulates in the subterranean formation.
Hydrocarbon wells are often at least partially located in unconsolidated portions of a subterranean formation. As used herein, the term “unconsolidated portion of a subterranean formation,” and grammatical variants thereof, refers to a portion of a subterranean formation that comprises loose particulate matter (e.g., formation fines, proppant, other introduced particulates, such as diverting agents, and the like) that can migrate out of the formation with, among other things, the oil, gas, water, and/or other fluids recovered out of the well. The particulate material in a relatively unconsolidated portion of a subterranean formation may be readily entrained by recovered fluids, for example, wherein the particulates in that portion of the subterranean formation are bonded together with insufficient bond strength to withstand the forces produced by the production of fluids through those regions of the formation. The presence of particulate matter in the recovered fluids may be undesirable in that the produced particulates may abrade pumping and other producing equipment, reduce the fluid production capabilities of certain portions of the subterranean formation, require costly cleaning operations to remove the particulate matter from the recovered fluids, and the like. In addition, the particulate material may block the pore throats of a subterranean formation, thereby reducing the permeability of the formation (i.e., the ability of the formation to transmit fluid for recovery).
One approach to prevent or reduce the particulates from being produced with the formation fluids is the use of a gravel packing treatment. In a typical gravel packing treatment, one or more screens are mounted on a wellbore tubular and positioned in a wellbore drilled through a subterranean formation adjacent a desired production interval. An annulus is formed between the subterranean formation and the wellbore tubular. Specifically sized particulate material, referred to herein collectively as “gravel,” is pumped as a slurry through the wellbore tubular and into the annulus. The gravel is deposited into the annulus around the screen and tightly packed therein to form a “gravel pack.” The gravel is sized such that it forms a permeable mass that allows formation fluids therethrough but at least partially prevents or blocks the flow of loose particulates with the formation fluids. However, loose particulates may still escape the confines of the gravel pack and flow into the wellbore opening, limiting drawdown pressure. This may be particularly true if the loose particulates have a particularly broad size distribution, such that the gravel pack is not capable of preventing all of the particulates from migrating through the pack.
Another method used to mitigate the migration of particulates in subterranean formations involves adhering the particulates together in an area of interest in the subterranean formation, which is usually accomplished by treating the particulates with a traditional consolidation system, typically having a resin, and optionally, depending on the resin type, a coupling agent and/or a hardening agent. Consolidation treatments generally involve coating a resin around the surface of a loose particulate in a formation that, when cured, holds the particulate in place in the formation and prevents or reduces its migration therein. However, coating of loose particulates with traditional consolidation systems to prevent their migration in a formation may undesirably result in a reduction in the diameter (i.e., at least partial blockage) of the pore throats of the formation, thereby reducing the permeability of the formation. Accordingly, the productivity of the formation may be reduced by the resin treatment. Additionally, the resin may not have any particular affinity for the loose particulates as compared to other portions of the formation and so may fail to adequately coat the undesired particulates to prevent their migration. Traditional consolidation treatments also generally form hardened masses to prevent particulate migration and so may fail to reduce entrainment of newly formed particulate material or particulate matter that was not consolidated in place with produced fluids.